The present invention relates to deodorant-antiperspirant cosmetic compositions and to a method for preventing or substantially suppressing the formation of unpleasant odors due to bacterial decomposition of perspiration by applying the compositions to the axillary, inguinal and interdigital areas of the body.
It is well known that perspiration which results from the secretion of sudoriferous glands causes, on the one hand, moistness of the skin and, or the other, the appearance of body odors due to a decomposition of the perspiration by microorganisms.
To combat moistness of the skin it has heretofore been proposed to reduce perspiration by the application to the skin of conventional antiperspirant compound-containing compositions. These active compounds include, for instance, aluminum salts such as aluminum chlorhydroxide complex, known under the tradename CHLORHYDROL, sodium aluminum chlorhydroxy lactate complex, known under the tradename CHLORACEL, aluminum phenylsulfonate, aluminum chlorhydroxy allantoinate, aluminum dihydroxy allantoinate, aluminum isopropylate, and various other organic aluminum compounds, such as, for example, the complex combination of aluminum chlorhydroxide with propylene glycol known under the tradename REHYDROL.
While compositions including these conventionally known antiperspirant compounds may reduce perspiration, they do not at the same time effectively eliminate body odor which results from the decomposition of perspiration by microorganisms. Accordingly, in such compositions it was found necessary, in order to combat effectively the formation of body odor, to add a separate deodorant compound or agent which most often was an active agent against microorganisms. Thus, there resulted a composition containing an antiperspirant component or agent and an antimicrobe compound or agent, the latter generally including hexachlorophene, bithionol (bisphenol), and quaternary ammonium compounds.
However, such compositions, which are now widely used, still have certain drawbacks. For instance, it has been found that, in certain cases, the antiperspirant component or agent which can contain certain impurities as trace materials, actually inactivates to a significant degree, the antimicrobial action of the deodorant component or agent, thereby inhibiting to a significant degree the fulfilment of the double duty of the composition, i.e., its role as a perspiration inhibitor and as a deodorizer.
Bis-(2-pyridyl-1-oxide) disulfide (also referred to as 2,2'-dithiodipyridine-1-1'-dioxide) and various derivatives thereof, have previously been disclosed in the literature. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,742,476 discloses bis-(2-pyridyl-1-oxide) disulfide and the lower alkyl substituted derivatives thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,371 discloses molybdate derivatives, U.S. Pat. No. 3,027,732 discloses stannous chloride derivatives, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,346,578 discloses stannous fluoride derivatives of bis-(2-pyridyl-1-oxide) disulfide and each refer to the antifungal and the anti-bacterial properties of said derivatives.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,434 discloses hair and antiseptic formulations containing adducts of bis-(2-pyridyl-1-oxide) disulfide with alkaline earth metal salts.